§ Mr. Gregory CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the amount of illegal fuel smuggled into Northern Ireland in 2003. [169932]
§ John HealeyI have been asked to reply.
In Northern Ireland, it is not possible to distinguish between the proportion of non UK duty-paid fuel accounted for by legitimate cross-border shopping and the proportion accounted for by cross-border smuggling and the misuse of rebated and low-tax fuels supplied for non-road use. Customs' latest estimates of the overall revenue loss both from legitimate cross-border shopping and from all forms of oils fraud, including smuggling, in Northern Ireland in 2000, 2001 and 2002 are set out in HM Customs and Excise's Annual Report and Accounts (HC 52) published in December 2003.
Customs' estimates for 2003 will be included in their Annual Report and Accounts for 2003–04.